


Shades of Denial

by Kicon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Family Drama, Fluff, Harry Potter Next Generation, Secret Relationship, Summer Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-21
Updated: 2014-01-10
Packaged: 2018-01-06 06:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 15,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1103721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kicon/pseuds/Kicon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are only so many ways to deny true love, and Teddy and Victoire discover all of them the summer before her seventh year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which Their History is Explained

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My [tumblr](http://kiconwrites.tumblr.com)

When asked to think of the one, constant thing in her life, Victoire thinks of Teddy Lupin. Not her parents (who were there when she needed them and even when she didn't), not her grandparents (who always had a hug, a kiss, and some wise advice on hand), or any of her various aunts and uncles (who each had their own special qualities and areas of expertise). She thought of none of them.

Instead, as per usual, her thoughts turned toward the orphaned boy who was two years her elder, with hair and eyes that changed colors. Specifically, she thought of the photo that rested on her beside table.

The picture was taken a few hours after she was born. Victoire was wrapped in a tiny pink blanket and two year old Teddy was holding her. He kept looking with bewilderment at the camera and then at Victoire. A pair of hands (she'd always assumed that they were Uncle Harry's) were helping Teddy support her so he didn't drop her. Teddy's hair was changing back and forth from amber (anxious) to tan (curious).

They had always been Teddy and Victoire for as long as they could remember. Where Teddy went, Victoire followed. Where Victoire went…Well, she usually followed Teddy everywhere. But when she did go places by herself, he followed at a distance to keep an eye on her.

Being the eldest of their generation, they were usually stuck babysitting their younger cousins. They never minded, though, since they could spend more time with each other, and they were both very protective people. The adults often called Victoire the "Mother Hen" and teasingly asked her and Teddy where their "brood" was.

When Teddy left for his first year at Hogwarts on September 1, 2009, Victoire cried like never before. Not in front of him, of course. But after the train was out of sight, she started to sob and she didn't stop for three days. It was then that she realized that she loved him.

She tried to look back on her childhood to figure out when and where she'd fallen in love with Teddy Lupin, but failed. In every memory of him she felt the same rush of devotion and love for him; she just hadn't had a name for it back then. Later, after she told her best friends Harriet Baxter and Ginger Tyson, she thought maybe it was one of those rare "forever loves" like Ginger suggested.

Either way, she was overjoyed when she went to Hogwarts in 2011 and was sorted into Gryffindor with Teddy. He, however, seemed less than thrilled. Over the past two years he'd become the popular Gryffindor Keeper who had a cool magical ability and war heroes for parents. Victoire also achieved instant celebrity status due to her last name and attractive appearance, but Teddy seemed embarrassed by her.

That caused a rift in their relationship that wasn't healed until their next year, when Victoire became a Beater on the team. They both adjusted their friendship so that it was more fitting for their ages, and went on from there. It also helped that most of the school's attention had been turned to their first year cousin Molly, who had taken Hogwarts by storm with her rebellious ways.

The year after that Dominique came to Hogwarts and became the first Weasley to be Sorted into Ravenclaw. Victoire became quickly jealous of the attention Dominique was receiving and sought to make herself even more desired. That back fired.

Everybody quickly became sick of her, even her friends. And on one night when emotions were running high for the both of them, she and Teddy ran into each other. Before they knew it, they were snogging in an unused classroom. Sounds of Peeves causing mischief disturbed them, and they silently agreed to never speak to each other about it again.

Their friendship was strained after that. They weren't as close anymore, and hardly ever talked to each other about the important things. She tried to pretend he was just Teddy, the boy she'd grown up with, even though she desired to be his.

HPHPHP

Victoire had always been just Victoire to Teddy, until she wasn't anymore.

It was very confusing, and not something he liked to think about because it gave him a headache. They'd grown up together. He'd known her since she was born. She was the closest to him in age, although Molly wasn't far behind. They understood each other.

Things changed when he went to Hogwarts. She wasn't his only friend anymore; he had other people to talk to. Lots of people wanted to be his friend. For the first time, he was in a place separate from his family (although not completely separated) where he could be himself and shine.

Then she came to Hogwarts, and suddenly he didn't want to be around her anymore. He couldn't explain it himself. But they were both...different, somehow. Suddenly she seemed so much younger, immature, and embarrassing. He was thirteen years old, and he was no longer at the age where it was cool to have a little girl be your best friend. He knew that she didn't understand and was hurt, but he couldn't help it.

The next year she got on the Quidditch team with him, and he didn't see her as embarrassing anymore. She was one of the guys now. Slowly, they adjusted their friendship from brother-and-sister to buddies.

It was in his fifth year that he started to wonder why his parents had abandoned him on that fateful night so many years ago. The thought that gaining glory in a war was more important to them than their own infant son tormented him every night. He would do anything to distract himself. And one night, that distraction just so happened to be Victoire.

They snogged in an empty classroom until they were disturbed, and then they never spoke of it again. But the feel of her lips on his never left his mind. He wanted to talk to her about it, but she clearly didn't. So he just treated her like one of the guys again, but it was hard. Their relationship was strained. They couldn't talk about things anymore. And he couldn't see her as just Victoire anymore. She was no longer just the little girl with long blonde hair that followed him around.

She was so much more than that.


	2. In Which It Begins

_December 25, 2016_

Sometimes she hated Christmas.

Maybe not Christmas itself, but definitely her grandparents' annual Christmas party held at the Burrow.

There were always too many people and it was loud. She felt crowded and claustrophobic, and there was no place to get away from it. What made it worse was her best friends Ginger and Harriet couldn't get away from their families to join her this year.

Victoire downed the rest of her cider and set the glass on the closest surface. She was going to find someplace quiet or heads were going to roll.

She heard the door open and then the room chorused, " _Teddy!_ "

Her heart jumped into her throat and she paused on the stairs, turning her head to look. Sure enough, there he was, standing there with his best friend Jesse Walker. She hadn't seen him since the Midsummer party in July, and even then he was only there for a little while. He didn't even come to King's Cross on September 1 because he was too busy working.

There was something different about him, she felt, as her eyes roamed his familiar features. Physically, his hair (which was a vibrant shade of turquoise, meaning he was feeling comfortable) was longer and shaggier. There was stubble on his chin. Yes, he looked different, but that wasn't it. His presence felt different.

But those eyes...They were the same. Relatively speaking, with him being a Metamorphmagus and all. They were midnight blue, her favorite shade. She could swim in those eyes.

Blinking, she realized that she'd been staring at him, and he'd seen. She offered him a small smile and a wave before retreating upstairs.

Luckily, her father's old room was empty and she didn't have to kick anyone out of it. She went over to the window and opened it. Then she stood on the sill and reached for the drainage pipe next to it. Carefully she shimmied up the pipe and sat on the roof above the window, which formed a nicely sized ledge.

She could still hear the noise and commotion downstairs, but here she was above it all. The cold night air also helped ease her headache.

Half an hour later she heard the bedroom door open and someone stumble in. She dangled her legs off the edge so the person could see she was on the roof. The person approached the window and stuck his head out. She smiled when she saw it was Teddy.

"Toire!" he exclaimed, and she wrinkled her nose playfully at the nickname. Most people called her Vic or Vicky, and he was the only person in the world that's allowed to call her Toire.

Teddy held up a bottle to her and she took it, restraining her laughter as he clumsily crawled up the pipe and sat practically on top of her. His eyes, much to her disappointment, had changed to a muddy brown. His hair was dark green tinted with brown, which meant that he was confused. It was always this color when he was intoxicated, which - judging from the mead bottle in her hands and the smell of his breath - she guessed he was.

"Figured you were up here," he drawled, his face far too close to hers. She could feel his breath wash over her face, and it gave her goose bumps. "You never liked loud crowds."

"How are you, Ted?" she asked faintly, turning her face away. "I haven't seen you in a while."

He took the bottle from her hands and took a swig. "I've been..." he started, but trailed off into garbled nonsense and shrugged.

"How's work?"

He grinned.

After graduation last June, Teddy was immediately accepted into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in the Ministry, and he chose to work in the Beast Division. He was brilliant at it, but that was to be expected. He got an Outstanding on his Care of Magical Creatures N.E.W.T. Hagrid cried, he was so happy.

"Work is work," he replied. "I love it, but...I dunno, Toire, I'm just not exactly happy."

She frowned and looked at him with worry. He didn't meet her eyes; he was fixed on the stars above them.

"I just feel like I belong somewhere else." He sipped the mead again. "I haven't been myself lately, Toire."

"Why not?"

He sighed, shoulders sagging heavily with defeat. "It's hard. Those people expect...I don't know. They expect so much. They expect me to be a hero, like my parents."

His eyes darkened, but he finally met Victoire's gaze and smiled.

She blushed and looked away again, and he leaned close, breathing in her ear,

"They don't know me like you do. Nobody does."

A shiver ran up her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck rose.

"Not even Jesse?" she asked, her voice tight.

Unexpectedly, he laughed out loud. "I can't burden Jesse with my problems right now."

"Why not?"

He grinned. "He got engaged."

" _What?!_ " she shrieked.

Teddy laughed louder and nodded. "You 'member Divity Loveday? 'Course you do. She's a hard one to forget..."

"I thought they broke up when she graduated last year."

"Well they met up in June, they got together again in August, and he popped the question last week."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

He shook his head agitatedly and his hair briefly turned maroon (angry) before returning to green-brown. "I'm a mess, Toire."

She frowned. "No you're not."

He simply shook his head slowly. "Jess has it all figured out. He's getting married, he has a career. He has his life figured out."

Victoire was speechless. She'd never heard him talk like this. Teddy was always so cool and confident. She never knew this scared, vulnerable side of him existed. And she thought she knew him the best out of everybody.

"You know he asked me to be his best man?"

"That's great," she whispered.

He nodded. "You know, Jesse has always looked up to me. He told me one day, in our fifth year. He said I'm his role model." He chuckled darkly. "Well maybe I should tell him that his role model has turned into a screw up."

" _Ted Remus Lupin_ ," Victoire hissed, earning a startled look from Teddy. "You are _not_ a screw up. Don't you _ever_ say that about yourself. You are brave, kind, smart, and loyal. So stop this little pity party and get yourself together."

Teddy blinked and then smiled at her. He leaned his head on her shoulder and she suddenly couldn't breathe.

"See, Toire? You always know what to say."

He nuzzled his face in her neck and her skin was on fire. She impulsively grabbed the mead and took a few swallows. Her heart was beating so loudly that she was sure he could hear it. They hadn't been like this in a long time.

"What happened to us, Toire? We used to be so close."

"We _are_ close," she said, almost inaudibly.

He shook his head. "When was the last time we talked like this?"

She was silent and answerless.

Teddy leaned very close to her again and put a hand on the side of her face, his eyes wild and bright green. "You can't leave me, Toire. I can't lose you."

She nodded and felt lightheaded. "You won't lose me, Teddy."

"I can't, I just can't," he whispered, pressing his forehead against hers and closing his eyes.

"I'm always here," she breathed. "Always."

"Toire..."

And before she even had a chance to respond, his lips were on hers.

The beast within her was released. Her mind went blank and she let the beast's hunger control her. She pressed her body against his and wrapped her arms around his neck as she fiercely kissed him back. Gently, he laid her down, keeping one hand on her face and the other on her hip.

They snogged for several minutes until Victoire accidentally knocked the mead bottle off the roof. It crashed on the ground and they broke apart.

Breathing heavily, they looked at each other for a moment. His hair was a vibrant red-violet. That usually meant he was feeling either violent or horny. She figured it was the latter. His pupils were dilated and his lips were swollen.

"I'm sorry."

Her heart froze at the broken whisper that came from his lips. Without another word – and without looking at her again – he slid down the pipe and disappeared through the window.

She didn't cry until she heard the bedroom door close again. And even then she only allowed half-restrained sobs to break the silence of the night around her. The only other sound she heard was the breaking of her heart.

It was like third year all over again, only this time she knew that they would never be the same again.


	3. In Which There is Regret

_December 26, 2016_

The next day, Victoire felt completely numb. Nothing bothered her, nothing excited her. She stared blankly at the floor all the time. Her parents were worried, but said nothing. She considered writing Ginger and Harriet about what happened, but she couldn't bear writing it down.

_"You can't leave me, Toire. I can't lose you."_

She flinched as his words echoed through her mind.

 _Well_ , she thought bitterly, _you just did._

Tears smarted her eyes again. This was so unfair. Why did he have such an effect on her? No other guy made her feel this weak. Victoire was brave, bold, and rash to a fault, but she was a coward when it came to Teddy Lupin.

Maybe it would be better if they weren't friends anymore. She wouldn't have to worry about incidents like that happening again. She wouldn't have to patch her heart up after every time she saw him.

 _"I'm sorry,"_ his voice echoed in her mind.

Yes.

Maybe it _would_ be better.

Just not exactly easier.

HPHPHP

"Teddy, you _have to go to work!_ "

Teddy woke out of his deep slumber with a start, his eyes opening blearily. He knew the voice belonged to Jesse, and in his sleepy state he wondered how his best friend had gotten in to his flat - until he remembered that Jesse still had a key.

"Rise and shine, sweetheart!"

Jesse threw open the curtains and the sunlight seared Teddy's light sensitive eyes.

" _Bloody hell!_ " Teddy shouted, chucking his pillow at Jesse and hiding under the blankets. "Whatsa matter with you, mate?!"

Jesse pulled the blankets off the bed. Teddy sat up and glared mutinously. Jesse simply laughed and shook his head, causing some of his dirty brown hair to fall in to his eyes.

"You need to go to work."

"I called in sick," Teddy said stubbornly. "So let me be sick."

"You weren't sick yesterday," Jesse pointed out. "What happened since then?"

Teddy frowned and his hair turned an uneasy color of green-yellow. Jesse frowned.

"Ted, what happened?"

He sighed. "I sort of, uh...I, er, snogged Victoire," he mumbled.

Jesse's eyes narrowed. "And what happened _after_ you snogged her?"

"I..." Teddy ran a hand through his hair. "I said sorry and left."

" _Dammit_ , Teddy!" Jesse shouted, causing Teddy to flinch. "How could you do that to her - _again?!_ Merlin, it's like fifth year all over again!"

"I know," he grumbled.

"You said you wouldn't do this to her again."

"Well it's not like I bloody did it on purpose!" Teddy yelled. "I'd been drinking, I wasn't thinking straight. And..."

"And you snogged her. And then you left," Jesse finished.

Teddy glared darkly. "Shut it, mate. I already feel terrible."

"You know you probably lost her."

He froze and his hair turned red-brown, meaning he was scared. "No."

Jesse raised an eyebrow. "Your relationship hasn't been the same since fifth year, has it? And remember how long it took you two to just be in the same room?"

"Jesse, stop. Please."

Teddy's expression was pained, and Jesse watched as his hair turned a dark shade of blue, which meant that he was sad. Jesse consented and left without a word. Teddy laid back down and pulled the blankets back over him.

He knew Jesse was right. There was a good chance that he'd lost Victoire forever. Part of him wished he could go back in time and not snog her. Then everything would be okay between them. But the other part of him didn't want to undo it. Because he'd liked kissing Victoire.

He even wanted to do it again.

Teddy sighed. He could fix this. He could talk to her. He could try to make her understand -

But understand what? That it was a mistake? That he wanted to do it again? He couldn't tell her those things. He didn't even understand it. Teddy had done some stupid things in his life, but this was by far the stupidest. He always did stupid things when it came to Victoire Weasley.

So he laid in a ball in his bed for the rest of the day.

And then the next day he went to work.

He never talked to her.

He tried to forget.

(He wasn't successful)


	4. In Which a Secret is Formed

_June 15, 2017_

It was the first Tuesday since school had been released for the summer.

It was also the day of Louis' birthday party.

Since Louis' birthday was actually on the ninth, and everybody was always too busy with final exams to throw an actual birthday party, they always had it the week after the end of school.

Victoire was dreading this party. Not because she had to recognize that her dear little brother was thirteen. But because it was a _party_.

She hated parties in general, because there were always so many people (Why did she have so many relatives?!) and she hated crowds. But there was one person in particular that she didn't want to see.

 _Maybe he won't show_ , she thought hopefully. _Maybe he'll be too busy with work -_

But her hopes were dashed when a boy with happy indigo hair came through the front door. Her mother and father quickly went to greet him, and Louis jumped up with excitement. Victoire stayed sitting at the counter, and Dominique gave her a curious look. Normally she was thrilled to see Teddy, and Dom could tell something was wrong.

"I feel sick," she said faintly, then fled to her room.

Merlin, she knew it wasn't going to be easy to forget about him, but she didn't know it was going to be so hard!

"Toire?"

The door to her room opened and she stiffened. Teddy stood in her doorway. She turned away and faced the corner where she pretended to be incredibly interested in her wallpaper. He stepped around her bed and approached her until he was next to her. Just his presence made her heart race; she felt dizzy.

"Can we talk?"

She didn't say anything. She had already made her resolve to forget about him, and she wasn't about to go back on it now. Besides, he'd had six months to talk to her, and did he? No. He was too late.

"Toire, look at me."

She pursed her lips and tried to memorize every petal on the roses of her wallpaper.

He put a hand on her shoulder and whirled her around to face him. Their eyes met. She noticed that they were midnight blue, her favorite color. There was anger and regret and sadness and longing, all mixed together in his eyes. He was much closer than she'd realized, and their chests brushed lightly. Teddy was incredibly tall and she was very short, so when she looked up at him, his face loomed over hers.

Before she knew what was happening, they both had their arms around each other and their lips were pressed passionately together. Teddy's hands hungrily clutched her tightly against him, and she wound her fingers into his shaggy hair.

Downstairs they heard the doorbell, meaning another guest had arrived, and they broke apart. They stared at each other with shock.

Victoire's eyes filled with tears. "Get out."

"No," he protested.

"Just leave, like you always do," she hissed.

"I don't want to leave anymore."

She glared at him. "Oh, yeah? And what is that supposed to mean? This is the third time this has happened, Teddy, and my heart just can't take it anymore."

His hair was the sad color of dark blue. He ran a hand through it and shifted his weight uncomfortably. She sighed with frustration and tried pushing past him so she could leave her room. He caught her wrist and stared imploringly at her.

"No, please, let me explain," he said.

She didn't say anything, but she also didn't move away.

"I know it's terrible of me, to snog you and then leave," he started.

"You could say that again."

He gave her a look that silenced her and then continued, "It's terrible, but I…I like it."

Her pale blue eyes widened as she looked at him.

"I like kissing you, Toire," he said softly. "I like being near you, looking at you, seeing you smile…you're the best thing in my life. And I don't want to lose you."

She shook her head. "You haven't lost me."

He leaned forward and put a hand on her cheek. He bent down and their lips softly met. It was different from their three previous snogs. Those were filled with blind, animal-like passion. This was gentle and full of caring.

"What does this mean?" she asked when they pulled apart.

He blushed a little. "Well, I mean, I thought it was pretty obvious. I like you, Victoire, and I have for a long time. I was just scared that it would ruin our friendship. But I'm not scared anymore; I'm done being scared." He took a breath and smiled shyly at her. "So, would you be my girlfriend?"

She responded by kissing him again. They pulled apart and smiled at each other. Then her eyes darkened.

"Everybody is going to be all over us," she said. "We'll never get a break."

"And your dad might kill me," he pointed out.

Victoire sighed and played with some of her waist length blonde hair. "I don't want them to complicate us before we can figure this out."

"Then let's not tell them."

She looked curiously at him. "Could we really do that? Keep a secret from our family?"

"Sure," he said. "We can write each other and meet up every now and then. Once we know that this is going to work out, we can tell them."

Victoire nodded slowly. "That could work."

"Victoire! Teddy!" Fleur called from downstairs.

They kissed one more time before they went downstairs to rejoin the party. Victoire went over to chat with Dominique and Molly. Teddy talked to the Potters. Their eyes met from across the room, and they gave each other a small smile over their shared secret.


	5. In Which They Practice Denial

_June 18, 2017_

Victoire woke to the sound of pecking on glass. Her eyelids flew open and she scrambled out of her bed, opening the window to let her owl Défaite in. She pulled a dead mouse of of a drawer and gave it to the fussy bird, then untied the letter from her ankle. It read:

_See you then.  
-T_

A smile graced her lips. The letter was from none other than Teddy Lupin, who happened to be her secret boyfriend of exactly three days. And they'd just agreed to meet up in Diagon Alley.

"Mum, can I meet up with Ginger and Harriet at Diagon Alley?" she called.

"Vell I suppose so," Fleur replied. "Be careful!"

"I will!"

Then she turned on the spot and Apparated to Diagon Alley. She arrived in the Alley, startling a few people whose way she was in, and made her down the alley. She was pleased to see a familiar figure with reddish indigo hair, meaning he was happy and a little excited. His back was to her, so she sneaked up behind him. She snaked her arms around his waist and pressed her face into his back. He stiffened for a moment before he realized it was her.

"Toire," he greeted with a grin.

"Ted," she answered, releasing him and walking next to him.

The silence that followed was awkward to say the least. They'd been writing letters to each other for the past week, so there was really nothing new to talk about. He reached out and clumsily tried to take her hand, but she didn't let him.

"What if people see?" she said.

He nodded quietly. She glanced up at him and saw his hair was now an uneasy mix of green and yellow, and she began to feel really guilty for shutting him down, but she didn't want to run the risk of them getting found out so soon.

"So, your mum let you out?" he asked.

"Yeah, I said I was meeting Ginger and Harriet," she replied.

"Right."

There was silence again and Victoire was beginning to think that this wasn't a good idea after all. If they couldn't even take a walk together, how were they supposed to have a relationship.

"Look, Toire," Teddy started in a resigned tone, making her blood run cold with fear. "I like making out with you, but if we can't talk then I don't think we should date."

She smiled a little bit. "You read my mind."

He looked down at her and gave her a lopsided grin. "So talk to me."

"What do you want me to say?"

"What do _you_ want to say?"

"I don't know, that's why I asked you!"

They started laughing, and she was relieved to see his hair change to a relaxed pink. He reached out and took her hand, and she didn't protest. It felt natural and right, and she didn't think anybody would notice if they walked close enough together. She opened her mouth to say something about her morning when she was cut off.

"Vicky? Teddy?"

They quickly dropped their hands and Teddy's hair turned the surprised color of blue-green.

"Aunt Ginny!" they chorused, taken aback.

The middle-aged red-head eyed them suspiciously and looked at their hands, which she was pretty sure were together a moment ago. She took note of Teddy's hair color, and he noticed. He tried to change it to pink, but instead he got white, which meant he was repressing his emotions.

"What are you two up to?" she asked slowly.

Teddy stammered nonsensical syllables for a moment, then Victoire cut in.

"I was meeting my friends when I ran into Teddy here," she said quickly.

"Y-Yeah," Teddy added lamely.

Ginny nodded. "I see. Well, where are your friends?"

"I think they're at the other end," Victoire replied. "Or I'm just early."

"Alright, well I hope you find them," Ginny told her. "Ted, you're still coming to dinner tonight, right?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am," he stuttered, then cringed. He usually only called her ma'am when he was in trouble.

Ginny's brown eyes narrowed slightly, then she brightened her face with a smile. "Good. James will be very pleased. Six o'clock sharp, then!"

She gave them a quick hug each and then was on her way past them.

They stood there, still in shock of what had just happened. Teddy's hair was brownish green, meaning he was confused.

Victoire let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Well," she said. "That was close."

Teddy just nodded.


	6. In Which Teddy is Cornered

_June 18, 2017_

When Teddy appeared in the fireplace he wasn't even able to shake the ash out of his eyes before he was tackled by a young boy with a mop of dark brown hair on his head.

"James, let him get out of the fireplace first!" Ginny scolded as she made her way into the kitchen.

James grinned and stepped away from Teddy.

"How are you, Jimmy-boy?" Teddy asked as he brushed the ash off of his clothes.

"I'm good, how about you?"

"Doin' alright myself."

" _Teddyyyyyyyyy!_ "

He cringed at the incredibly high pitch of the screech, and a pounding of footsteps followed. A streak of red came around the corner and barreled into him, knocking him down onto the floor. Teddy smiled at the round face of his nine year old godsister.

"Ello, Lil," he greeted.

"Teddy!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing tightly.

"Lily, let him breathe!"

Lily smiled sheepishly and crawled off of Teddy. "Sorry Daddy."

Teddy stood up and went over to his godfather.

"How are you, Ted?" Harry asked with a smile.

Teddy shook his hand firmly. "I'm well, thanks."

"Dinner will be ready in just a moment," Ginny called from the kitchen.

Teddy looked around for the one Potter he hadn't greeted yet, and spotted a pair of green eyes watching him from the doorway of the living room. Albus, by far the quieter of his two siblings, was standing away from the action. Teddy walked over and ruffled the boy's already messy hair.

"Hey there Al," he said. "Looking forward to your first year?"

Albus nodded silently.

"Are you nervous?"

"Yeah," he answered quietly.

"Well don't you worry. You've got your cousins and your brother there to take care of you."

Albus grinned and hugged him tightly. Teddy smiled. Albus was the spitting image of Harry, with his black hair, green eyes, and gangly stature. Little Lily looked almost exactly like her mother, except she got her face from Harry. Her long hair was crimson, her eyes were dark brown, and she was very petite in size. James was a sort of mixture of his parents, getting his features from Harry, his eyes from Ginny, and his hair was a very dark brown. He was taller and more well built than Albus. Personality-wise they were all very different: James was an attention seeker, Albus was shy, and Lily was a dreamer.

He loved them all, either way.

Dinner was delicious. He always enjoyed spending time at the Potter house. He was raised by his grandmother Andromeda (Grammy Andy) since his godfather was only seventeen when Teddy's parents died. He did, however, spend a lot of time with Harry. Harry visited as much as he could in the beginning, since he was busy rebuilding the wizarding world. Once everything calmed down he was able to visit much more. Then, as he got older and settled down, Andromeda let Harry take Teddy for a couple days at a time. After Harry and Ginny got married, she let them have him every other week as practice for when they had kids.

There was always a bed and a meal waiting for Teddy at the Potters' if he wanted, and it was the same at all the Potter/Weasley clan's households. He was welcome whenever, and for an orphan boy whose only blood relatives were his grandmother and some distant pureblood cousins, that was always very nice.

"So, Teddy, did you and Victoire find her friends?"

Teddy almost choked on his drink as Ginny's questions startled him out of his reveries.

"What?" he asked, even though he'd heard the question just fine.

"Did you see Teddy earlier, Gin?" Harry asked his wife.

"Oh, yes," she said. "I was running errands in Diagon Alley and I ran into him and Victoire. It looked like they were on a date, but I suppose they ran into each other while she was looking for her friends."

Lily dropped her fork. "You and Vicky were on a date?!" she exclaimed, eyes alight with joy.

"N-No!" Teddy protested. "We were not on a date. She was looking for her friends and I helped her. That was it."

"I thought I saw you two holding hands?" Ginny asked, peering at him, her eyes alight.

"Holding hands?!" Lily screeched, clasping her hands together with joy. "Are you gonna get married?!"

"No!" Teddy exclaimed, his hair turning his frightened color of reddish brown. "We're not getting married and we were not holding hands and we were not on a date!"

There was a heavy pause, and the Potters all exchanged looks.

"I believe you, Teddy, sorry," Ginny said. "I was just teasing you."

He nodded quietly, his heart racing, as his hair color receded to an uneasy green-yellow.

Harry picked up another topic of conversation, and Teddy tried focusing on his chicken. He couldn't relax, however, because Lily's eyes were fixed on him.

"Do you think Vicky is pretty?" she asked.

The rest of the conversation fell away, and five pairs of eyes were on him.

"Yes, she's pretty," he said.

"Is Vicky your friend?"

"Yeah."

"Do you like hanging out with Vicky?"

"Well, yeah."

"Do you trust Vicky?"

"Of course I do!"

"Do you get mad when other boys like Vicky?"

"I…I'm just looking out for her," he mumbled lamely.

"Then why don't _you_ date her?"

"Because I don't feel that way about her, Lily!" he snapped.

"Let it go, Lily," Ginny said warningly.

Teddy gave Ginny a tight smile. He really didn't like this interrogation from Lily and hoped the warning from her mother would make her stop. However Lily, true to her stubborn nature (inherited from her mother, ironically), persisted.

"Why not?"

"I just don't!"

"But you think she's pretty and you're friends and you trust her – "

"I just don't like her in that way."

"Do you like another girl?"

"Not right now."

"Then why not like Vicky?"

" _Because!_ "

Teddy stood up so quickly the chair he'd been sitting in fell over with a loud crash. Lily looked shocked and scared, and his hair was a bright coral, meaning he was agitated.

"I have to go," Teddy said darkly.

"But – " James started.

"I forgot I have to meet with Jesse about something. Best man stuff," he said hurriedly, picking up the chair and storming toward the front door. The Potters trailed after him.

"T, are you – " Harry began.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, then slammed the door behind him and Disapparated away with a crack.


	7. In Which They Play Romeo and Juliet

_June 22, 2017_

_Tap...tap tap...tap_

Victoire stirred slightly from her sleep and opened her groggy eyes, wondering why Défaite was outside. But she spotted the bird in her cage and was incredibly confused. She shrugged it off and laid back on her pillows, almost succumbing to the fanciful lures of sleep when the noise came back.

_Tap tap tap...tap...tap...tap tap_

She turned over on her side and watched the window, waiting for the noises again. She gasped when she saw small rocks hitting the glass of her window. Growling softly to herself, Victoire threw her covers off and opened her window.

" _What exactly do you_ – oh!" she stopped herself when she saw Teddy standing below by the beach.

"Ello Toire," he greeted, grinning crookedly.

She blushed and tried smoothing her hair and wrapping her arms around herself at the same time, which didn't work out.

"What are you doing, Ted?" she asked. "It's past midnight!"

He pouted. "I just wanted to see you."

She rolled her eyes. "And that couldn't wait until morning?"

"Of course not!" he exclaimed. "I had to come here and tell you how beautiful you are."

She blushed again. "I look like a mess."

"You're beautiful no matter what."

Their eyes met, and despite the distance between them they felt as close as could be. It was too dark to see his hair or eye color, but she could tell he was being sincere.

"Thank you, Ted," she said softly.

Teddy didn't respond. Instead, he leaned over and pulled his broomstick out of the bushes. She gasped with delight and he mounted the broom, quickly rising up to her window.

"Let's go out," he said.

"I…I can't," she whispered.

He frowned. "Why not?"

"What if somebody sees us? What if my parents find out?"

"I'll have you back before dawn," he promised. "And besides, who in their right mind would be up at this hour?"

She gave him a wry look. "My thoughts exactly."

He grinned and reached his hand out to her. She was about to take it when the light in the window next to hers flicked on.

"My parents!" she hissed.

Teddy's eyes widened and he zoomed around to the other side of the house. She darted back into her bed and pulled the covers up, pretending she was asleep. The door to her room creaked open and a figure walked in. She could tell by the soft, delicate footsteps that it was her mother.

"Le froid!" her mother exclaimed quietly, then moved over to the window and shut it.

Fleur made her way over to Victoire's bed, and Victoire tried to relax her facial muscles. Fleur smoothed some of Victoire's out of her face.

"Mon doux bébé," she whispered softly. "Je t'aime."

Fleur left the room quietly, and Victoire smiled slightly at her mother's affection. Then, after a moment, she quietly crept over to her window and opened it.

"Teddy?" she called quietly.

He came around the side of the house and smiled at her.

"Rain check?" he asked.

She nodded. "Are you coming to the Midsummer Party at the Burrow?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he replied.

Victoire smiled and leaned forward. They kissed quickly and sweetly, and then he was off into the night.

HPHPHP

"Morning, Dom," Bill said.

Victoire looked up from that day's _Daily Prophet_ and saw her younger sister entering the kitchen. Dominique was only fourteen (going on fifteen), and yet was taller than Victoire. Dominique had inherited their mother's tall, willowy figure. Dom had gorgeous, wavy red-gold hair and pale blue eyes. Where Dom was thin and tall, Victoire was curvy and short. They were both beautiful, but in different ways.

"Morning," she said quietly, taking a seat next to her sister at the dining table.

Dominique and Victoire contrasted not only by looks, but also in personalities. Victoire was a bold Gryffindor through and through. Dominique was pensive and quiet, preferring to keep to herself and her small group of fellow Ravenclaws.

"Est-Louis dort encore?" Fleur asked, asking if Louis was asleep.

"Oui," Dom replied.

Dominique was also the only one of her siblings who had bothered to learn French. As such, she and Fleur were very close.

Fleur rolled her eyes and went upstairs to wake up her only son.

"Did you sleep well?" Bill asked.

Dominique shrugged. "I did. Except I woke up in the middle of the night."

"Why?"

"I thought I heard voices."

Victoire froze, and she could feel her sister's gaze burning holes in her side. She choked down a bite of toast and shoved her plate away.

"How strange, Dom. Maybe it was just a dream," she said, and then scurried upstairs to the bewilderment of her parents.

Bill gave Dom a confused look. She simply shrugged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used Google Translate for the French, so I apologize if there are any errors
> 
> ~Ki


	8. In Which They are Reckless

_June 24, 2017_

Oh _Merlin_ how she hated parties.

Her grandparents' annual Midsummer Party at the Burrow was the worst of them all, though. Not only was her entire family invited (including all extended and distant family members) but family friends and their families were also invited. Tents covered the grounds and there were people everywhere. People kept calling her name, but she was looking for one person only.

"Vicky!" two people chorused.

She recognized the voices instantly. She turned and hugged her two best friends, Ginger Tyson and Harriet Baxter.

Ginger was a brunette of average height with a heart shaped face. She always had a mischievous smile on and had surprisingly blue eyes. Harriet, ironically, was the ginger-headed one. She was tall with green eyes and had the brains of a Ravenclaw, but the spirit of a Gryffindor.

"Hey girls!" she greeted distractedly, trying to look for Teddy. "How've your summers been?"

Harriet started to answer, but Ginger jumped in.

"You won't be- _lie-_ ve what Hannah and Selena were saying about you," the brunette said, referring to their Slytherin enemies.

"That's nice," Victoire said, not listening.

Harriet and Ginger gave each other weird looks.

"Vic – " Harriet started.

"Listen, girls, it's great to see you but I have to go," Victoire said.

She left her friends disappointed and downcast, but didn't particularly care. She could hang out with them some other time. She and Teddy, on the other hand, didn't have perfect opportunities like this come around very often.

"Victoire, there you are," Bill said when he found her. "We have to say hi to your grandparents. You can find your friends later."

They went inside the Burrow, where Molly and Arthur Weasley were greeting their guests.

"Granddad! Grandmum!" she, Dom, and Louis exclaimed when they approached.

They were then showered with praise and love, and lots of hugs and cheek kisses were given. Then Fleur found Vicky's Aunt Gabrielle, and Victoire was forced to entertain her younger cousin Celeste, who was an absolute brat.

Celeste was still going on and on about how much better Beauxbatons was than Hogwarts when Vicky's mother and aunt saved her from having to murder the little girl.

Victoire was feeling stifled and she knew she had to get out of there quickly or else she was going to explode. She excused herself and went up the stairs, determined to go all the way to the attic and spend some time with the ghoul if she had to, in order to escape the noise.

She didn't get to the attic, however. She only got to the second floor when a pair of hands grabbed her, pulled her into a bedroom, and closed the door.

"Wh – "

She was cut off by a familiar pair of lips. She responded vigorously before pulling away, flipping on the lights, and smiling at Teddy.

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked.

"You mean how did I know I wasn't just snogging some bloke who'd pulled me into one of my uncle's old bedrooms?" she asked with a mischievous smile. "I have my ways."

He smiled again and slid his arms around her waist, resting his hands at the small of her back.

"Why were you up here and not down with everyone else?" she asked. "I was looking for you."

"I came earlier to help set up. Once the crowd started to gather, I came up here," he said with a lopsided grin. "Plus, I figured you'd get sick of the crowds and hide up here eventually."

She lifted up on her toes and he kissed her. The kissing quickly became passionate, and they stumbled away from the door. They accidentally kicked an old cauldron that was sitting on the floor. Teddy smiled against Victoire's lips.

She twisted her fingers in his hair and made him sit down on the bed so she could have more control over the kissing. There were benefits to being short and having a tall boyfriend, but lack of kiss control was not one of them.

Teddy nibbled her bottom lip gently and she bit his in return. She giggled as he let out a small groan. His fingers dug in to her skin and –

The door handle jiggled.

They quickly sprang apart and tried to fix their appearances as the door swung open and their cousin Molly stood in the doorway, looking perplexed. They wore expressions of deer caught in headlights, and Teddy's hair had turned its red-brown shade of scared.

Molly was the closest in age to Victoire, since she was only about six months younger than Victoire. She was, however, a year below Victoire in school because she was born in December.

Molly took every opportunity to be unlike her father, as opposed to Lucy who was Percy's female mini-me. Molly spent her time listening to Muggle rock bands and pulling all sorts of pranks with her friends. Molly and her friends were known around school simply as the Girls. Somebody might ask, "Who painted the Astronomy Tower green?" and somebody would answer, "The Girls."

Molly had triple pierced ears and a nose piercing. Her arms were lined with bracelets and she had on a Muggle band tee and ripped up skinny jeans. She had a slender frame and an angular face. Her eyes were bright blue and her wavy, shoulder length red hair had rainbow streaks in it.

"Hey guys," Molly started slowly, her bright blue eyes narrowed. "What'cha up to?"

"Oh, well, you see – " Teddy stammered.

"I was showing Teddy the view," Victoire interrupted, gesturing to the window they were thankfully next to. It overlooked the garden.

Molly nodded slowly and Teddy's hair color receded to an anxious amber.

"Yeah, well, my dad sent me up here to get an old book of his," she said.

Victoire looked around. So it was her Uncle Percy's old room that they'd been snogging in. She hadn't taken the time to notice before since she was preoccupied, but the absolute tidiness of the room screamed Percy.

Molly toward the bookshelves and accidentally kicked the knocked over cauldron. She paused and frowned, then set it back in its place. Despite her crazy and rebellious ways, Molly was a bit of a neat freak.

She grabbed the book off the shelf and left, but not before casting another suspicious glance over her shoulder at them. Then she shut the door.

"That went well," Teddy said after a moment.

Victoire just sighed, her shoulders sagging.


	9. In Which the Girls are Suspicious

_June 24, 2017_

The party began to die down around midnight. Shortly after they were nearly discovered by Molly, Victoire and Teddy decided it was best not to stay up there much longer.

As per tradition, after the Midsummer Party, all the grandkids slept over and spent the whole next day at the Burrow to spend some time with their grandparents. After receiving the customary hugs and kisses from their parents, the kids split to claim the various rooms. Teddy, however, had to leave because he had to help Jesse out with plans for the wedding.

The remaining boys split into two groups; Freddie, James, and Louis stayed in Bill and Charlie's old room and Albus and Hugo went to Ron's old room. The girls split into three groups; Rose and Lily took Ginny's old room, Lucy and Dominique claimed Percy's old room, and Victoire, Molly, and Roxanne stayed in Fred and George's old room.

While the boys did whatever boys do on sleepovers, the girls talked about boys in Percy's room – with the exception of Rose and Lily; Rose, ever her mother's daughter, insisted that it was far too past their bedtime and they needed to sleep.

"Was it just me, or did Blaine Wood look hotter than normal tonight?" Molly asked.

"All three of the Wood boys are pretty cute," Dominique agreed.

" _Pretty cute?_ " Molly repeated. "They're gods."

"And they're great at Quidditch," Victoire interjected.

Dominique rolled her eyes. She hated Quidditch.

"I heard their sister Tessa is good too," Roxy added. "She'll be a second year in September, so I hope she tries out."

Eager to change the subject, Dom spoke up. "I saw Asher Cole checking you out earlier, Vicky."

Victoire wrinkled her nose. "He's one of my friends!"

"So?" Roxy asked.

"And he's Ginger's ex-boyfriend," Victoire said. "I don't date my friends' exes."

The girls nodded in respect.

"So, Luce, got your eye on anybody?" Dom asked.

Lucy shrugged half-heartedly and ignored the girls' pesterings until they gave up.

"You know who was looking pretty good tonight?" Molly asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Teddy."

Victoire stiffened but tried to relax. Dominique laughed while Roxy and Lucy exclaimed, "Ew!"

"What?" Molly asked innocently.

"He's family," Dom pointed out.

"Not by blood, and besides, family members can still be attractive," Molly argued, then swung her piercing gaze over to Victoire. "Right, Vic?"

Victoire shrugged. "I guess. I've never really noticed."

"Really?" Molly asked. "Well you two are the oldest and have spent the most time together, I really thought you would've picked up on how _smoking hot_ he is by now."

Dominique, Roxy, and Lucy exchanged a look, picking up on the tension between Victoire and Molly.

"I don't feel like talking about Teddy," Victoire said. "Let's – "

"But why?" Molly interrupted. "Why would you not want to talk about Teddy? Did you two get into a fight? You were getting along fine earlier, or was I mistaken?"

Victoire glared at her cousin, but Molly glared right back. Normally Victoire and Molly got along, but Molly was obviously not going to let this drop until Victorie admitted what she and Teddy were really doing earlier.

"I don't want to talk about him because I'm tired," Victoire answered, getting off of the bed they were sitting on. "I'm going to sleep."

She stalked over to the door and closed it firmly behind her. She lingered a moment to listen.

"What was _that_ about?!" Dominique exclaimed in a hushed tone.

"Nothing. Sorry," Molly replied, and then the girls moved on to a different topic.

Victoire crossed the hall to her Uncle George's old bedroom and crawled into one of the beds with tears in her eyes.


	10. In Which a Date is Had

_June 30, 2017_

Teddy waited nervously at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor.  Even though Florean Fortescue had been killed by Death Eaters during the Second Wizarding War, the shop had been restored and reopened by some old friends of his.  It remained a popular shop in Diagon Alley.

He drummed his fingers on the tabletop and glanced at his watch again.  Victoire was ten minutes late.  They hadn’t seen each other since the Midsummer party and the few letters she’d sent him, arranging this date, had been short and almost cold.

He was filled with a slight panic at the thought that she might be thinking of calling their relationship off.

“Teddy?”                    

He jumped at the sound of his name and turned to see Victoire approaching.  As usual, his breath was taken away.  Her shiny blonde hair fell down to her waist, and her pale blue eyes watched him with apprehension.  But it wasn’t just her physical beauty that blew him away every time.  It was the spirit and determination within her, it was the confident way that she carried herself.

“Hey,” he said, jumping up to pull her chair out for her.  He scooted her in and then sat back down in his chair.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

He frowned. “Why?”

“I’ve started pushing you away,” she replied.

“I noticed.”

Victoire bit her lip and looked down.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She took a breath and told him all in a rush what had happened with Molly after the party had ended.

He let out a low whistle. “That’s rough.  I’m sorry.”

“She didn’t talk to me at all the next day, either,” Victoire said. “She and I have always been able to talk about things.”

“Does this have anything to do with why you’re pushing me away?” he asked.

She nodded. “I’m worried that _this_ – ” She gestured between them. “ – will come between us and our family.  And I can’t have that.  You _know_ how important family is in our family.  Especially to our parents.”

Teddy nodded as he listened.

“If…if this is going to get in the way of family, then…” She sighed. “Then I don’t know if it’s worth it.”

He looked down and bit his lip.

“Your hair is dark blue,” she said softly.

“That’s because I’m sad,” he answered.

“I know.”

He drummed his fingers on the table, trying to figure out something to say.  He was always bad with words.  They sounded good in his head, but whenever he tried to say them they got all jumbled and garbled and didn’t sound as good out loud.

“Victoire,” he said, surprising her by saying her full name, “I love our family.  You know that.”

She nodded.

“But…” He sighed. “I really care about you, and I think we might actually have a shot at making this work, make it go all the way, and that’s definitely worth it.  That’s worth anything.”

Her eyes widened and his heart rate quickened.

“I know it’s hard right now, with us being a secret, but it won’t be this way forever,” he told her. “I really believe that this can work.  But, if you don’t…I understand.”

Victoire stared at him, her mouth forming a tiny “o”.  He knew that a million thoughts were probably racing through her head.  He felt his hair change and he pulled a lock of it into his view and saw that it turned amber.  Anxious was an accurate description of how he was feeling at the moment.

“Toire?” he asked.

“Do you mean it?” she asked.

He blinked. “What?”

“What you just said,” she replied. “Everything.  All of it.  Do you mean it or are you just saying stuff to make me stay with you?”

“Of course I mean it!” he exclaimed. “I wouldn’t do that to – ”

She stood up and reached across the table, grabbing his collar and pulling him into a passionate kiss.  After a few moment, she released him with a smile and a blush.

“So, we’re good?” he asked teasingly.

She nodded. “We’re definitely good.”

 

HPHPHP

Victoire returned to Shell Cottage in a dizzy dream of happiness.  She’d gone to the ice cream parlor with the aim of breaking things off with Teddy, but he’d surprised her.  He’d laid his heart out before her and told her how he felt about them.  He’d said everything she’d ever dreamed of having a man say to her.  She was walking on cloud nine.

“Victoire.”

She stopped at the sound of her father’s voice.  He was sitting in the living room and stood when she approached.

“Hello, Dad,” she said with a smile. “How are you?”

“Where have you been?” he asked with a frown.

“I told you,” she replied, “I was at Harriet’s.”

“That’s very interesting,” he said, “as Ginger and Harriet dropped by an hour ago asking to see you as you haven’t hung out all summer.”

Victoire’s heart dropped into her stomach. “I…”

“I’ll ask you again,” Bill said. “Where have you been?”

She swallowed and looked down, shaking her head.

“Then you’re grounded,” he said. “Two weeks.”

“What?!” she exclaimed. “You can’t do that!”

“Then it’s three weeks,” he replied.

Victoire balled her hands into fists. “I’m of age.  You can’t tell me what to do!  I don’t have to ask your permission to do things anymore, and you can’t ground me!”

Bill opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by his wife, who stormed into the living room from the kitchen.

“Victoire Apolline Weasley!” she snapped. “’Ow _dare_ you talk to your fazzer zat way!”

Victoire stared at her in shock.  Fleur wasn’t the disciplining parent.  She usually left Bill to do the scolding.

“You are leeving under our roof, and zerefore you will follow our rules!” she declared. “If you do not like zis, zen you can find somewhere else to leeve!  You are, as you said, of age.”

Victoire was speechless.

Fleur put her hands on her hips. “Well?”

“I’m sorry,” Victoire said. “It won’t happen again.”

Fleur sniffed in distaste and went back into the kitchen.

Victoire turned to her father, who looked at her with disappointment.

“Three weeks,” he told her.

She nodded and went upstairs, her steps heavy.  Her dizzy dream was over.


	11. In Which a Party is Spoiled

_July 5, 2017_

For the first time in her life, Victoire had _looked forward_ to a party.

Not because she was growing to enjoy them (Godric, they made her skin crawl), but because she hadn't been out of the house in five days and she felt like she was going to go crazy. It was Dominique's fifteenth birthday party and it was being held at Shell Cottage, so she still wouldn't be able to leave, but at least she'd see different people – namely Teddy.

When Teddy arrived, she greeted him like everybody else and then excused herself to go upstairs. Then Teddy said he forgot Dom's present at his house, like they'd planned, and left, but just went around to the side of the house. Victoire opened her window and he pulled his broom out of the bushes where he'd stashed it earlier. He flew up and she clambered onto his broom and together they flew off along the shoreline until they were far enough away that they wouldn't be seen or walked in on.

"Have you talked to Molly?" Teddy asked first.

"I haven't talked to her, but she was glaring at me from across the room," she answered despairingly.

Teddy hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry about it, Toire."

"How can I not?!" she asked, pulling away. "She's _really_ mad at me, Teddy."

"She'll forgive you."

"How do you know?"

"Because that's what families do: forgive each other."

She looked at him and smiled, and then pulled him down for a kiss.

"So you think the clan will forgive us for keeping this a secret from them?" she asked hopefully.

He nodded and smiled. "They'll have to."

"When are we going to tell them?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied. "We said we'd tell them once we knew it was going to work out."

She peered at him, trying to gauge his feelings. "Well at our date you said you thought we had a shot. Do you still think so? Is this going to work out?"

"I really hope so, Toire," he said, bending down to kiss her on the nose. "I really, really hope so."

"Then we just need to find the right time to tell them!" she said happily, taking his hand and interlacing their fingers. "And then it won't be a secret anymore and we won't have to sneak around!"

"We should probably tell your parents first," he told her.

"Why not Harry and Ginny first?" she asked. "Or your grandmother?"

"Because I know they'll be thrilled, the whole lot of them," he answered, thinking of Lily's pestering when he had dinner at the Potters'. "And my grandmother adores you. It's your dad I'm worried about."

She laughed. "Okay, we'll tell my parents first."

"But probably not at Dom's party."

She gasped. "The party! We have to get back!"

"I have to get Dom's present!" he exclaimed.

She quirked an eyebrow. "You mean you _actually_ forgot it?"

He shrugged and grinned. "I thought it'd make my story more convincing."

Victoire laughed and kissed him, and then they took off on his broom back to the cottage. She climbed back through her window and Teddy landed before Disapparating back to his flat.

"Victoire, come get a slice of ze cake!" her mother called when she got downstairs.

"Cake already?" she asked. "Don't we have to sing first?"

"We already did."

The steely voice came from behind her, and Victoire turned around to see Dominique's pale blue eyes narrowed and focused on her.

"What?" Victoire asked, heart sinking. "But – "

"We called for you," Dom continued, her tone vicious. "We looked upstairs. You weren't there."

"We…we must've missed each other," Victoire said feebly. "It's pretty loud, I guess I didn't hear you."

Dominique shook her head with disgust and turned away. Fleur shoved a plate with a slice of cake into Victoire's hands, but her stomach was churning with guilt so she didn't have much of an appetite. She turned and gave the cake to the nearest person, which happened to be Hugo returning with his empty plate. The nine year old's eyes lit up like it was Christmas, and he ran off happily with his second slice.

"Sorry I took so long, I must've misplaced it," Teddy said as he came through the door, catching Dominique before she could escape upstairs. "Happy birthday, Dommie!"

Dom flinched at the hated nickname. "Thanks Teddy. Just put it with the others." And then she disappeared up the stairs.

Teddy gave Victoire a confused look and Victoire just shook her head before going upstairs to talk to her sister.

"Dom?" Victoire asked as she gently pushed open her sister's door. "Can I talk to you?"

Dom made no protest so she entered the bedroom.

"Listen, I'm sorry I missed singing – "

"You think _that's_ why I'm mad?" Dominique asked quietly.

Vic was confused. "Well – "

"It's just a stupid song, Vicky, one that you've sung to me fourteen years in a row already," Dom snapped as she turned around to face her. "I'm _mad_ because you were nowhere to be found!"

Victoire searched for an excuse but couldn't find one.

"You've been so absent lately!" Dom exclaimed. "Always running off and disappearing with Teddy! I don't care what you two are doing, but I care when it affects the rest of us!"

Victoire frowned. "Teddy and I aren't – "

Dom silenced her with a look.

"Anyway, I'm sorry I was gone so long. You know I hate parties," Victoire said. "I was getting some air."

"But even when you're with us you're not with us," Dom countered. "You've been grounded for five days already, but you hole up inside your room writing letters the whole time. You don't talk to any of our cousins or family friends or even your own friends!"

"So?" Victoire asked.

"Lily lost her last baby tooth," Dom told her. "Molly's going to dye her hair again. Uncle George has been getting on Freddie lately. Roxy's scared she won't make the Quidditch team. Al and Rosie are nervous about starting school. Did you know that?"

"No," she admitted grudgingly.

"And did you know that Ginger - one of your _best friends_ \- is having trouble with her boyfriend?"

Victoire's eyes widened at the mention of one of her best friends.

"Yeah, she's been trying to talk to you about it in person but you've always run off after saying hello."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry! I'll try to be more present."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Dominique snapped, then left her room and returned to her party.

Victoire felt ashamed of herself. What Dominique said was true. Her relationship with Teddy was getting in the way of her family, which was exactly what she didn't want to happen.

Something had to change.


	12. In Which Something Changes

_July 22, 2017_

Yesterday was the last day of Victoire’s grounding.

And how was she spending her first day of freedom?

In the house.

She’d written to Harriet and Ginger, apologizing for being so distant, but neither had written back.  The only letters she’d gotten were all from Teddy.  His owl arrived daily, bearing a new letter each time.  She ignored them all, and was collecting quite the pile of unopened letters in the corner of her room.  And because Teddy’s owl wouldn’t leave until he got a treat, Victoire was almost out of food for her own owl.

“Maman?” Victoire asked as she walked into her parents’ room.

Fleur was sitting on the floor surrounded by clothes, which were floating in the air and magically having patches sewn on to them.  Victoire recognized them as her Uncle Charlie’s clothes, based on the burned holes in all of them.

The holes couldn’t be fixed with magic because the burns were caused by dragon fire, which caused a magic retardant effect.  Charlie used to just threw the burned clothes away and bought new ones, but Fleur found that a waste of money so she offered to fix his clothes.  He sent packages of burned clothes every couple months.  Fleur would use magic to sew patches on them and then send them back.

“Oui, ma chère?” Fleur replied, looking up.

“Is it alright if I go to Diagon Alley?” she asked. “I’m almost out of owl treats and need to get some more.”

“Oui, you may,” Fleur said.

“Merci, Maman,” Victoire told her with a smile.  Although she hadn’t learned French like Dominique, it was hard not to pick up common words.

“Be ‘ome in an hour, s’il vous plait.”

“I will.”

“Je t’aime!” Fleur called as she left.

Victoire laughed and called back, “I love you too!”

She went back to her room and grabbed her coin purse, then went to the fireplace and Floo’d to Diagon Alley.  She stepped out of the fireplace at Flourish and Blotts, left the building, and headed to Eeylops.

“Victoire?!”

Her heart sank.  She turned and came face to face with Teddy, whose hair was brownish green with confusion.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I was trying on dress robes for Jesse’s wedding,” he replied. “Why haven’t you returned my letters?”

“I’ve been spending time with my family,” she said.

“Well there’s nobody else to spend time with when you’re grounded,” he said with a laugh. “Wait, you’re not grounded anymore!”

“That’s right.”

“Want to get some ice cream?” he asked, smiling nervously.

“I can’t.  I have to buy some owl treats and go home,” she replied.

“Well, I can go with you!” he suggested. “Maybe today we should tell your parents about us.”

She shifted her weight. “Um, about that…”

His hair changed immediately from brown-green to green-yellow – uneasy.

“I don’t actually think this is going to work,” she said quietly.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, panic creeping into his voice. “You…you said, a couple weeks ago, that – ” He stopped. “What happened with Dominique?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.

“You were on board with us having a shot, and then we went back to the party and since then you haven’t been talking to me,” he replied. “What did Dom say to you?”

“The truth!” Victoire snapped. “She told me the truth.  Ted, our… _relationship_ got in the way of our family!  I missed singing Happy Birthday to my little sister because I was out with you.”

Teddy frowned. “We didn’t mean to – ”

“It’s not just Dom, either!” she exclaimed. “It’s everything.  I’ve been pulling away from my parents, Molly’s still mad, my best friends won’t write me back, I don’t even know what’s going on in Louis’ life – ”

She stopped and took a breath.  Her voice had risen in pitch and volume and now they were attracting some stares.  She grabbed his wrist and pulled him down the street, away from the staring people.  They ducked in between some buildings and she faced him.

“This isn’t going to work,” she said, not meeting his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Teddy shook his head in agitation.  His hair was a dark, angry shade of maroon.

“You know what, Toire?” he asked. “Screw you.”

Her jaw dropped.

“I really put myself out there for you, because I thought this meant something to you.  I thought you were committed to this like I was,” Teddy snapped. “Apparently I was wrong.” He shook his head angrily. “You know, at Hogwarts they called you the Heartbreaker Without a Heart?”

Her eyes widened.

Teddy nodded. “Yeah.  I told them they were wrong, that they didn’t know the real you.  Well,” he scoffed, “I guess they were right.”

She gritted her teeth. “Teddy!” she shouted as he walked away.

He glared at her over his shoulder, then Disapparated.

Teddy arrived back at his flat and stormed into his room, body buzzing with angry energy.  He grabbed the framed photograph of himself and Victoire off his nightstand and chucked it against the wall.  The glass broke and the frame landed on the floor.  He fell to his knees and dragged his fingers through his hair, wondering _why why why?_

Meanwhile, Victoire sat on the ground in the alley with her face in her hands, hot tears falling between her fingers.


	13. In Which an Apology is Made

_August 12, 2017_

Victoire had always liked the Potters’ house.  It was a large, cozy home in Godric’s Hollow that they’d had built once the ruins of Harry’s parents’ house had been torn down.  A lot of people had been against the tearing down, but Harry figured there were already too many ruins in the world to preserve another one.  She liked it better than Grimmauld Place, anyway, where they’d lived before.

“Happy birthday, James!” Bill said loudly when they came through the front door into the Potters’ already crowded living room.

“Hey Uncle Bill!” James greeted. “Louis, come over here, I wanna show you something!”

Louis’ blonde head disappeared as he wound through bodies to get to James.  Dominique went over to go talk to Lucy and Bill went to search for his mother.  Fleur headed over to Ginny, leaving Victoire standing by the doorway by herself.

She shuffled over to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water.  There were far too many people in the house, no matter how large it was.  At least she hadn’t seen the one person she was avoiding.

The door opened.

Her heart clenched.

It was her Aunt Luna and the others.

Victoire let out a breath and drank the rest of her water, feeling a little better.  She saw Molly, who, sure enough, had died her hair again.  Molly caught her eye and glared, then went off to talk to Lucy and Dom.  Victoire sighed and decided to talk to Roxy, who was looking unoccupied.

“Hey, Rox,” she greeted.  Then, remembering what Dom had said, asked, “Nervous about Quidditch this year?”

Roxy nodded glumly. “Yeah, I am.  There are going to be a lot of good flyers trying out this year, and I’m just a second year.  I’ve been practicing all summer, but…”

Victoire wasn’t listening.  The door had opened again, and it was Teddy who had stepped through this time.  She’d expected his hair to be maroon for angry or coral for agitated, but instead it was a mix of dark blue and gray: sad and dispirited.  Then he made eye contact with her and it flared coral.

“Vicky?” Roxy asked.

“Sorry, I wasn’t listening,” Victoire said, turning to her tan-skinned cousin.

Roxy shook her head with annoyance. “Whatever, Vicky,” she grumbled, leaving to go talk to Charlie.

Victoire sighed, disappointed in herself.  Even when she wasn’t sneaking off with Teddy, she was still snubbing her family.  She was supposed to have felt better after breaking things off with him, but the past few weeks had been awful.

She chewed her lip in thought, then weaved her way through the crowd to Molly, Dominique, and Lucy.  Lucy looked up in surprise when she approached while the older girls gave her cold looks.

“Hey Luce, do you mind if I talk to them alone for a bit?” Victoire asked.

Lucy nodded. “Sure, I’ll just go talk to my dad,” she replied, shuffling by.

“Look, Dom, a wild Victoire,” Molly said in a hushed voice. “It’s never been seen at a party before.  No sudden movements or it might suddenly disappear with its teddy bear.”

Dominique giggled and Victoire rolled her eyes good naturedly.

“Very funny,” she said. “Listen, I wanted to apologize.”

“Bout time,” Molly said, raising an eyebrow.

Victoire smiled apologetically. “I’ve been dealing with a lot lately, and I haven’t been doing a good job at balancing.  I’m sorry about that.  I’m going to try to do better, though.”

Molly shrugged. “I was over it a month ago.  I just kept glaring at you to make you feel guilty.”

Victoire laughed and swatted her cousin’s arm.  Then she turned to her sister.

“You were right, Dom, I have been absent,” she said. “But not anymore.”

Dominique smiled, her pale blue eyes softening. “Good.”

Victoire pulled her into a quick hug, then they stood there in a semi-awkward silence.

“So!” Victoire said suddenly. “Molls, new hair?”

Molly tugged at a lock of her shaggy, green-streaked red hair. “Yeah, I was getting tired of the rainbow.  Green’s my favorite, so I figured…what the hell?”

“How’d your dad react?” she asked with a grin.

“Poor Uncle Percy,” Dom mused. “He’d _just_ gotten used to the rainbow, too.”

Molly grinned like the Cheshire cat. “So, you know how Uncle Ron’s ears get really red when he’s mad or embarrassed?”

The sisters nodded eagerly.

“It was like that, except about ten times worse,” she said. “He kept opening his mouth like he was going to say something but couldn’t.  He looked like a fish!  Then he made some sort of growling noises and slinked off to his office.”

They burst into laughter and everything felt like it was going back to normal.  Victoire glanced around and found Teddy watching them.  He was standing next to James, who was yammering on about something, but it was clear that Teddy wasn’t listening.  Teddy ruffled James’ hair and walked away, pulling the front door open and leaving.

Victoire shook her head, noting that his hair was a _really_ dark shade of blue.  She turned back to Molly and Dominique, who were looking at her with concern.

“Everything okay?” Dom asked.

Victoire pursed her lips slightly and nodded. “Yeah, it’s fine.  So, Dom…”


	14. In Which the L-Word is Spoken

_August 29, 2017_

“Ha!  I win again!” Bill declared triumphantly.

Victoire glared at him and threw down the rest of her cards.  He’d beaten her five times in a row at Exploding Snap.  Fleur looked up at them in amusement from where she sat on the windowsill with a sketchbook and pencil in her lap.  Dominique was curled up on the couch reading.  Only Louis was absent, upstairs in his room.

For the past couple weeks Victoire had been more present.  She’d worked things out with Ginger and Harriet and spent more time with her family.  And it was nice.  She was happy, they were happy.  She just felt sort of…empty.  Unfulfilled.  Lacking.

And she missed Teddy like crazy.

But she wasn’t going to dwell on him.  She pushed all thoughts of him to the edge of her mind, where they stayed, forbidden to come forward.  She refused to let him be front and center in all her thoughts like he used to be.  She had to focus on her family and on herself.  And besides, she was going to start her seventh year at Hogwarts in two days; she couldn’t afford to lose track of her goals.

She still felt a little sad, though.  He had been one of her best friends, after all.  He hadn’t been trying to send her any letters recently and she didn’t run into him when her family went into Diagon Alley to buy school supplies.  She wondered if he was avoiding her.

_Ding-dong!_

Fleur’s eyebrows pushed together in confusion as she set aside her things and got up to answer the door.  Bill started dealing the cards again, even though Victoire didn’t really want to play another game.

“Oh, Teddy!  What a nice surprise!” Fleur exclaimed.

Victoire’s heart skipped a beat as she sucked in a shocked breath.  Dom looked over at her with a concerned expression.

“Hello, Aunt Fleur, ‘scuse me,” Teddy said, stepping past her and into the house.  His expression was frantic and his hair was dark brown: restless.

“Ees something ze matter?” she asked she closed the door.

“I need to talk to you,” he said in a low voice to Victoire. “In private.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she replied, trying to keep her voice even as she avoided his eye contact.

“Fine,” he said, pursing his lips and nodding. “Fine.  Then I’ll say it here.”

He turned to Fleur, then Bill.

“Victoire and I were secretly dating,” he declared.

Bill’s jaw dropped and Fleur’s eyes widened.  Dom rolled her eyes, since she’d already guessed.

“What are you doing?!” she hissed.

“Yeah, we got together at Louis’ birthday party,” he told them. “We wanted to keep it a secret because we knew everybody would be all over us.  We wanted to figure us out before we revealed us to the world.

“We wrote letters to each other all the time and tried to meet up in Diagon Alley every now and then.  Most of the time we were only able to see each other at family events,” he continued. “So we would steal away for a while.  But because of that, we missed things.”

He looked apologetically at Dom, who nodded understandingly.

“We unintentionally pulled away from the family because we were juggling two different lives,” he told them. “Toire realized this and told me it had to change.  We were going to go public, but then she decided to break it off.”

Victoire stared down at her lap, her cheeks flaming, as her parents’ gaze switched to her.  His hair turned blue and sad.

“I was really upset at first, still am a bit, but I understand now why she did it.  Family comes first.  It always has,” he said. “So I’ve been giving her space.”

He wrung his hands together, obviously nervous.

“But these past weeks have been miserable for me,” he confessed, looking directly at Victoire now. “And I know they haven’t been all that peachy for you, either.  Don’t you feel something missing?  Something lacking?” He sighed and chewed his lip. “Without you, Toire, my life just has this huge, gaping hole in it.  And I don’t want to live that way.  I _can’t_ live that way.”

He set his jaw and stood up a little straighter, looking Bill directly in the eyes.

“Which is why I’m asking your permission, Uncle Bill, to date Victoire publically so we can share our relationship with everyone, and so we can spend our time with family and with each other.  Because it shouldn’t be one or the other,” he declared, puffing his chest out.  He then looked at Victorie and his expression softened. “And…and because I’m in love with her.”

Fleur squeaked.  Bill’s poker face was replaced by one of shock.  Dom’s book fell out of her lap as her hands flew to her face.  Louis, who had been walking down the stairs to investigate the commotion, tripped as he walked.

But Victoire noticed none of this.  She was transfixed by Teddy, and the revelation of his confession.  His hair had turned an embarrassed peachy color, but the expression was true and sincere.  The air had all been sucked out of her lungs and tears of happiness sprang into her eyes.  Her heart swelled at hearing the words she’d waited so long to hear.

“I, um…well perhaps – er – ” Bill stuttered, attracting their attention.

“Of course!” Fleur exclaimed. “Of course you ‘ave our permeesion!”

“I-If she – if she will…er, have you,” Bill said finally.

Teddy turned to Victoire, a shy smile on his face.

She nodded tearfully, too happy to be embarrassed of how girly she was acting.

“Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, of course, Teddy, I – ”

He pulled her up and kissed her hard.  She kissed him back for a moment, then remembered her family was watching.  She broke apart and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest.  He wrapped his arms around her securely, resting his chin on her head.

“Um, we should give them a moment,” Dominique whispered, getting up from the couch.

“Oh!  Oui!” Fleur said, then began shoving Bill and Louis up the stairs.  Dominique followed them, meeting Victoire’s eyes over her shoulder and smiling.

Once they were upstairs – but undoubtedly listening in – Victoire pulled away and smiled up at him.

“So,” she said with a smile. “We’re doing this again.”

“We’re doing this the _right way_ ,” he corrected. “No secrets, no sneaking.  Just us.”

“That sounds wonderful,” she replied, getting up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

He obliged and leaned down to meet her lips.  He sighed into the kiss and pressed his hands against her back.  When they pulled away, she noticed his hair was a deep violet color.

She made a confused face. “I’ve never seen your hair that color before,” she said.

He pulled a lock of his hair around to look at it.  He laughed and kissed her forehead.

“That’s because I’ve never felt this way before,” he replied, smiling widely at her. “I _love_ you, Toire.”

She smiled and put a hand on his cheek. “Teddy, I’ve always loved you.”

His eyes crinkled with happiness. “Sorry it took me so long to catch up.”

They could hear Fleur and Dominique’s coos of “Aww!” as they leaned in to kiss each other again.


	15. In Which They Stop Denying

_September 1, 2017_

"You know," Victoire murmured against Teddy's lips, "everyone can see us."

"Good," Teddy replied with a smirk, then ducked down for another kiss. "I really like this whole not-hiding-our-relationship thing. Means I can do this all the time now."

Victoire laughed as he kissed her again, pushing her against the brick wall they were leaning against. She wound her arms around his neck and curled her fingers through the fine purple hairs at the base of his neck.

"Teddy! Hey, Teddy!" a young voice shouted out.

They broke apart with a giggle and turned their heads to see James standing before them, a dumbstruck look on his face. Teddy grinned and Victoire blushed.

"Hey, Jim-Jam," Teddy greeted.

James made a displeased face at the nickname. "What are you doing?"

"Seeing Victoire off," Teddy replied with a crooked grin. "Now get out of here, kid, you're interrupting."

James frowned. "But you were – "

"Go away, James!" Teddy and Victoire chorused.

The young Potter made a disgusted face and turned around, calling over his shoulder, "I'm gonna tell Mum and Dad!"

"Good!" Teddy called back.

He turned to Victoire, who looked up at him with an amused expression.

"Well, it's safe to say the whole family will know in a matter of minutes," she said.

"They'll think it's a rumor," he replied.

"We'll get a lot of questions."

"They'll get a lot of answers."

"And what will those answers be?"

He smiled softly down at her. "Yes, yes, yes. It's all true. We're dating and we're in love and we're in this for the long haul."

She kissed him swiftly. "Good answer."


	16. In Which Denial is Hereditary

_August 20, 2038_

"Breakfast is ready!" Victoire called up the stairs before she walked back into the kitchen of the Burrow, where she, Teddy, and their brood have been living for the past twelve years. Once they'd had their fifth child, their grandparents had decided to move into a smaller home and give the Burrow to the Lupins.

Teddy and Victoire, like their grandparents, had ended up having seven children as well. A few months after they were married in the summer of 2020, Victoire discovered she was pregnant. She then gave birth to triplets in 2021: a boy they named John and two girls named Nym and Dora.

Two years later (earlier than they'd wanted), they had another daughter who they named Clarisse. They waited three more years to have another child, and in 2026 their little Minerva was born. Lux came along two years later, and Ruby came along shortly after.

As it turned out, Nym was the only one to inherit the Veela charm; the Veela blood from Fleur's grandmother was fairly thinned out by this generation. Dora and Clarisse fully inherited Teddy's Metamorphmagus abilities, although Clarisse only used it when necessary. Minerva and Lux only inherited it in part: Minerva could change her eyes while Lux could change her hair.

"Mum, what did you make?" asked Nym as she walked into the kitchen.

Nym was second oldest, being ten minutes younger than John, and looked like the spitting image of Victoire when she was her age, except a bit taller and she didn't wear her hair as long. She, John, and Dora would be starting their seventh year in September.

"Pancakes," Victoire replied, waving her wand to fetch down nine glasses from the cupboard.

The back door opened and the two younger girls came in, their faces and hands covered in dirt. Ruby had vivid red hair and pale blue eyes while Lux had hazel eyes and naturally brown hair, but today she'd changed her hair to an awful chartreuse color. Since the two girls were barely a year apart in age, they were very close.

"Mum, I'm _starving!_ " Ruby complained.

"Pancakes!" Lux exclaimed.

They rushed to grab plates, but Victoire levitated them out of reach.

"Wash, first," she told them.

Nym ruffled her younger sisters' hair as they grumbled and shuffled over to the bathroom to wash their hands.

Clarisse came down the stairs in pajamas, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Despite her Metamorphmagus ability, she typically kept her natural dark blonde hair and blue eyes. She stumbled over to the counter and began serving herself.

"Did you stay up too late reading again?" Victoire asked.

Clarisse sat next to Nym at the counter and nodded.

"I told you not to keep doing that!" she said. "You need to rest up before school starts."

"But I'm going into my _fifth year_ , Mum!" Clarisse replied. "I need to start preparing for the O.W.L.'s _now!_ Speaking of, can I visit Aunt Lucy this week? She said she'd give me study tips."

"Only if you promise to get to bed at a decent time for the rest of the summer," Victoire said.

"Scout's honor!" Clarisse declared, then started eating as Nym tried telling her for the thousandth time that the O.W.L.'s weren't as bad as she thought.

Dora came down next, followed closely by Minerva. Dora was sporting her typical pink hair and green eyes. Minerva looked almost plain next to her vivid older sister with her straight brown hair, but she tended to change her eyes to bright colors that stood out. Today they were yellow.

"Wait, Minnie! We were down here first!" Lux exclaimed in protest as she and Ruby came out of the bathroom.

"Well I'm older," Minerva replied, continuing to pile pancakes on her plate.

"Don't eat all of them!" Ruby whined, stamping her foot for emphasis.

Dora gave the girls a look. "No whining, remember? Mum can always make more, but she won't if you keep whining."

"That's right," Victoire said.

Lux and Ruby hung their heads in defeat. Dora laughed and pushed them towards the counter.

"Go on, eat," she said.

Victoire looked around. "Where are the boys?"

"Dad left this morning," Nym replied. "Got a letter from Mrs. Darby down the road saying she needed help getting rid of some knarls that were wreaking havoc in her garden. He said he'd be back by breakfast."

"And I am," Teddy said as he walked in the front door. "Morning, girls."

"Morning, Dad," the girls chorused.

Teddy kissed the top of each of their heads as he went around the dining table. He went into the kitchen and kissed Victoire's cheek.

"Did you get rid of all the knarls?" she asked.

"Eventually, yes," he replied. "These ones were particularly nasty, but yet again Mrs. Darby has a flawless garden."

She smiled in approval, then frowned. "Well, that's everybody except John. Is he still sleeping, do you think?"

Nym and Dora shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure I heard an owl at his window this morning," Dora supplied.

"His light was on when I passed his room," Nym offered.

Victoire pushed her eyebrows together. "Perhaps I should go see if – "

"No, I'm here, sorry," John said, tripping down the bottom stair in his haste. "I was, um, doing something. Sorry."

John blushed and ducked his head, some of his dirty blonde hair falling in his face as he served himself some pancakes.

"I was talking to Rosie the other day and she said that she saw you in Diagon Alley the other day," Victoire said conversationally.

John nodded earnestly. "Yeah, that was when I was meeting up with Brian and Andrew, remember?"

"She said you were with a girl," Victoire continued. "Olivia Davies?"

John choked on his pancakes and had to swallow some milk before he could speak. "Oh, um, yeah, she – I ran into her, see, and, er, she helped me find them."

Victoire nodded, although her eyes were narrowed. "And that you were holding hands?"

John spilled some milk when he slammed his glass down. "Nope!" he exclaimed. "No hands were being held, um, you know how Aunt Rosie likes to exaggerate. Um, I'm not actually that hungry, so – "

And without another word, he fled out of the kitchen and up the stairs. The dining room was silent for a moment before the girls all started talking amongst themselves, coming up with theories as to why their brother was acting so weird. Victoire sighed and hugged Teddy, pressing her face against his chest.

"That was mean of me," she mumbled. "I shouldn't have pushed him."

Teddy rubbed her back. "He's fine, just flustered."

"This feels a bit familiar, though, doesn't it?" she asked, looking up at him. "Getting caught in Diagon Alley with someone you weren't supposed to be meeting with, lying to say you ran into them?"

"Hmm, it does sound familiar," Teddy said with a smile. "He'll tell us when he wants to. Olivia's a nice girl. Maggie and Jalen raised her well."

"We should have them round for dinner," Victoire said.

Teddy raised an eyebrow. "Toire, don't interfere."

"But – !"

He kissed her forehead. "Our son can handle himself."

She sighed. "I know. I just also know how hard it is to have to deny your relationship."

"Well, if he's anything like us, which he apparently is," Teddy said, "he'll figure it out."

Victoire smiled and hugged him a little tighter and he rested his chin on her head and together they wished they could stay like this forever.

Still to this day when someone asked Victoire to think of the one constant thing in her life, she thought of Teddy: her best friend, her husband, the love of her life. And Victoire was far from just Victoire to Teddy. She was his wife, the mother of his children, and his true love.

And there was no denying that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading Shades of Denial and leaving all of your lovely reviews! I'm sorry it took me so long to finish, but hey, better late than never! This story was so much fun for me to write =)
> 
> Teddy and Victoire's kids from oldest to youngest (in case you were confused while reading)  
> \- John (17): triplet of Nym and Dora. Dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.  
> \- Nym (17): triplet of John and Dora. Pale blonde hair and pale blue eyes. Only one to inherit the Veela charm.  
> \- Dora (17): triplet of John and Nym. Metamorphmagus. Typically has pink hair and green eyes, although naturally she has blonde hair and brown eyes.  
> \- Clarisse (15): Metamorphmagus, but only uses it when necessary. Usually sports her natural dark blonde hair and blue eyes.  
> \- Minerva (12): Partial Metamorphmagus; can only change her eyes. Her eyes are naturally blue, but she usually makes them yellow. She has straight brown hair.  
> \- Lux (10): Partial Metamorphmagus; can only change her hair. She naturally has blonde hair but changes the color on a daily basis. Her eyes are hazel.  
> \- Ruby (9): Bright red hair and pale blue eyes.
> 
> A note: Olivia Davies is the only daughter of Maggie and Jalen Davies. Jalen Davies is the only son of Roger Davies. Maggie is Magdalena Scamander, Lorcan and Lysander's little sister.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> ~Ki
> 
> My [tumblr](http://kiconwrites.tumblr.com)


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